The Fatty Bao: Truly Pan-Asian

I had booked The Fatty Bao, when it had opened a few months back in New Delhi. And yesterday, I did visit this place for dinner. The restaurant which is located on the second floor of Sangam Courtyard, is spacious, colouful and marked in to multiple spaces so that one can dine without much intrusion or noise from other diners. The high ceiling and the graffiti on the walls sets a playful mood and so does the menu.Since, it was cold (actually freezing), we decided to order few starters and couple of dark rum and cokes. Our order was California Rolls, Prawn Tempura, Shrimp and Garlic Chive Dimsums and Chicken and Asparagus Dimsums.
I thought, the dimsums were the best I have tasted in a Delhi restaurant for a along time. The Chicken and Asparagus Dimsum did score over the Prawn ones. My problem with seafood, probably is with the freshness of seafood available in Delhi, since is far away from the coast.
I did experience this when I was tasting the crab and prawns in the sushi rolls. I thought I crab meat was little too fishy and lacked the sweetness it normally has. The California Rolls also could have done with little more tobiko on the rolls, since I love the crunch it imparts when you bite into the roll.
For the main course, we ordered a Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng and Grilled Fish.
The Nasi Lemak came in a wooden tray and it looked absolutely stunning. The coconut and pandan flavoured rice in the middle of the plate was topped with a soft fried egg with fried onion, chives, roasted peanuts, cucumber and tomato slices with two pieces of Ayam Goreng (literally means fried chicken). In addition, I also got some prawn cracked, fried anchovies and a spicy and sweet Korean sauce. I must admit that, I am partial to Nasi Lemak as a great breakfast dish and a anytime food.During my student days, We were served Nasi Lemak for breakfast in our Malaysian Mess. But, that was simpler – Rice boiled in coconut milk with pandan leaves served with dried anchovies (ikan bilis in Malay. I loved these crunchy small fish), boiled eggs, cucumber slices, roasted peanuts and spicy sambal paste.

The Ayam Goreng was spicy and succulent. But the fried anchovy’s were little soggy and lacked the crunch. I missed the taste of dried ikan bilis here! But, this high calorie dish is a great soul food and never to be missed, if you visit The fatty Bao.
The Grilled Fish had a large fillet of basa (huge letdown!) with wok-tossed vegetables and Asian greens with Vietnamese hot and sour sauce. The fillet was well-cooked and had the right amount of flavours.
The ambiance and service in this restaurant was excellent and for all your Pan-Asian cravings, you can pick this place without hesitation!